The Volkswagen Aero B electric sedan has been spied in Europe ahead of its production debut some time in 2023.
While externally the level of disguise is similar to the prototype spotted in October 2021, this is the first time our spy photography agency has been able to get a good shot of the interior.
On the inside, the Aero B features a larger central touchscreen than we’ve seen so far on MEB-based vehicles.
Reports indicate that the mid-life facelift for the ID. 3, ID. 4 and others will see the much-maligned capacitive buttons replaced by more traditional units.
Unfortunately this update doesn’t look like it will make it in time for the Aero B’s launch next year, with the steering wheel spokes and the chin below the touchscreen featuring an array of capacitive controls.
As with other ID. models, the Aero B has a small electronic instrumentation display ahead of the driver.
Like the ID. Buzz, the instrumentation screen rests of a shelf carved into the dashboard, behind which is a blacked out section bisected by a chrome bar and hiding the outboard air vents.
Unlike the electric people mover, the Aero B’s dashboard shelf will be curved rather than flat.
Stepping back outside, the Aero B is a sedan with a fastback-style silhouette and a short, stubby rear deck.
This prototype, like the car seen back in 2021, has been fitted with a slew of disguise stickers featuring headlight, tail-light, grille, and fog light designs all seemingly stolen from the Jetta.
From what we can see, the Aero B will actually have slim, pinched back headlights like the latest Golf.
Instead of a traditional grille, the upper bumper will largely be blank, except for a large Volkswagen badge and, probably, a LED light bar bridging the gap between the headlights.
Along the side, the Aero B has a wavy shoulder crease and window line, as well as flush-fitting lift-up door handles. Unfortunately the prototype’s Hoffmeister kink is just another piece of cunning disguise.
It’s hard to see what shape the Aero B’s tail-lights will take, but the chromed exhaust tip finishers are fake.
Given Volkswagen unveiled the ID. Space Vizzion wagon concept in 2019, there’s a chance the Aero B will also be offered as a wagon down the track.
Should the Aero B wagon ever come to be, it will be one of the first low-riding electric wagons available, and could be more popular than the sedan, at least in Europe.
If Volkswagen decides to stick with its ID. naming scheme for its pure electric vehicles, the Aero B could be branded as the ID.7 when it begins rolling down the production line.
Volkswagen has yet to reveal which drivetrains it plans to offer with the Aero B, but we know the car rides on the MEB architecture that underpins the ID. Buzz people mover and van, ID.3 hatch, ID.4, ID.5 and ID.6 crossovers, as well as the Skoda Enyaq and Cupra Born.
In the ID.4, single-motor rear drive models are rated anywhere between 109kW/220Nm and 150kW/310Nm, while dual-motor all-wheel drive cars boast 220kW.
The ID.4 is offered with either 58kWh or 77kWh battery packs, with higher-spec models supporting DC fast charging up to 170kW.
A report from late 2020 indicated the Aero B would come with drivetrain upgrades, including improved driving range and faster charging.
The range-topping all-wheel drive Aero B GTX should have a 0-100km/h time of around 5.6 seconds, while the single-motor model will need around 8.5 seconds to hit the century mark.
It’s unclear if Volkswagen plans to launch the Aero B Down Under. Sedan sales have shrunk dramatically in the past decade or so, with the Toyota Camry and Tesla Model 3 being the only sedans to sell in significant numbers.
Locally, the Passat sedan was discontinued for private sales early in 2022, though sales continued for police fleets.
